The All-Time Mabee Top Ten: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Soundtracks

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring / music composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore
M1527.S56 L671 2001

Appropriately enough for the film adaptation of one fantasy literature's most enduring favorites, Howard Shore's score for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings is traditional and majestic, using sweeping strings, brass, and choral sections to create moments of fire-and-brimstone menace as well heroic triumph. An ominous, bombastic feel runs through much of the score, particularly on pieces like "A Journey in the Dark," "Flight to the Ford," and "A Knife in the Dark," but Shore also includes respites such as the sweetly elfin, Celtic-tinged "Concerning Hobbits" and the stately "Many Meetings." The vibrant "Bridge of Khazad Dum" and "Amon Hen" combine the score's major themes into dazzling climaxes, while Enya's contributions, "Council of Elrond" and "May It Be," add a subtle serenity that gives the score balance. While it's not a particularly melodic score, Lord of the Rings nevertheless does an excellent job of conveying the film's moods through music and has more than enough presence to be appreciated outside of the film's context. ~Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Watch the video for Enya's song "May It Be":

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers / music composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore
M1527.S56 L672 2002

Like the second installment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Howard Shore's score is big, bold, dark, and majestic. This is fitting as the movie is more action-oriented than the first, The Fellowship of the Rings, which — necessarily — spent more time on exposition and character development. It's also a good value for the money, as it features over 70 minutes of music, both instrumentals and vocal tracks (concentrated on the second half of the disc). These include "Evenstar" with the Canadian Opera Company's Isabel Bayrakdarian (who also contributed to Mychael Danna's Ararat soundtrack), "Breath of Life" with Sheila Chandra (formerly of Monsoon), "Forth Eorlingas" with Ben Del Maestro, "Isengard Unleashed" with Del Maestro and Elizabeth Fraser (the Cocteau Twins), and "Gollum's Song" with Emiliana Torrini. The latter is a British vocalist of Icelandic and Italian extraction, who has worked with Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabal and Iceland's Gus Gus. "Gollum's Song" is a tribute, of sorts, to the half-CGI, half-actor-created character (Andy Serkis provided his distinctive voice and physical movements) who handily walks away with the film. The affecting song ("We are lost/We can never go home"), which plays during the end credits, was written by Jackson's wife, Fran Walsh, and sets things up nicely for The Return of the King, the final book in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy. Despite the critical and commercial success of The Two Towers, the strong orchestral work, and the more inspired selection of vocalists, the soundtrack was not nominated for an Oscar, whereas Shore took home the gold statuette (his first) for his work on The Fellowship of the Rings. ~Kathleen C. Fennessy, All Music Guide

Listen to excerpts from The Two Towers


The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King / music composed, orchestrated and conducted by Howard Shore
M1527.S56 L673 2003

The monumental task of scoring — in rapid succession — three of history's most anticipated films has done little to temper the fire that fuels composer Howard Shore's vision and enthusiasm. With each installment of New Line Cinema's Lord of the Rings trilogy, his seemingly bottomless cauldron of memorable motifs and affecting character themes washes over Peter Jackson's Middle Earth like a coat of varnish, bending each frame to its will. If The Fellowship of the Ring was its heart and The Two Towers its body, then The Return of the King is the series' soul. Opening with a Brahms-like veil of strings that deftly segues into a solo violin variation on the main melody, Shore begins by re-revisiting themes from the previous films. By the time he reaches the devastating "Steward of Gondor" — featuring a heartbreaking tune sung by Hobbit (Billy Boyd) — the mood has shifted from nostalgia to urgency, channeling the protagonists' desperation to complete their harrowing journey. "Twilight and Shadow" uses the gorgeous voice of soloist Renee Fleming to add weight to Arwen's (Liv Tyler) decision on whether or not to choose love over immortality, and "Shelob's Lair," with its dissonant bursts of percussive brass, cements Shore as this generation's Bernard Herrmann. The real magic begins with "The Black Gate Opens," a nervous breath and the calm before the storm, anchored by James Galway's tin whistle. That breath is needed, as what follows is the culmination of nearly five years of work. "The End of All Things" explodes with a variation on the choral arrangement that normally accompanies the Ringwraiths, and inter-cuts it with the voice of the ring — a boy soprano — before launching into the ten-minute "Return of the King." Like a Wagner opera, Shore methodically places familiar themes within the context of emotional turmoil, avoiding the forgettable nonstop dissonance that others apply to battle scenes with sweeping, often nightmarish melodies that linger for days. It's this dedication to memorable composition that makes "The Grey Havens" — the film's epilogue — so compelling. With its soft, bittersweet strings, it packs an emotional impact that would have resonated only on the surface had he taken a by the book approach to scoring the action sequences. Shore and Jackson are visionaries for whom this was a labor of love, and these films are a testament to their nearly inhuman resolve and tenacity. Despite the inclusion of a lovely yet unnecessary song by Annie Lennox, The Return of the King marks the end of an extraordinary collaboration that's destined to be celebrated and studied for generations to come. ~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide

Listen to excerpts from Return of the King